Turf anchor

ABSTRACT

An anchoring mechanism for anchoring an outdoor trash can or other item to the ground includes a base mountable on the trash can and an anchor which is movable between a raised position and a lowered anchoring position. A reinforcing plate may be used inside the trash can to help secure the anchoring mechanism thereon. A foot press member is provided on the anchor to facilitate the pressing of the anchor into the ground. The anchoring mechanism is configured to prevent the trash can when empty from blowing around in fairly high winds and helps prevent the tipping of filled trash cans.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/880,570, filed Jul. 23, 2007; which application claims priority fromU.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/836,790, filed Aug. 10,2006; the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to an anchoring device fortemporarily anchoring an object to the ground. More particularly, theinvention relates to an anchoring device for anchoring an outdoor trashcan to the ground. Specifically, the present invention relates to suchan anchoring device which is mounted adjacent the bottom of the trashcan and includes an anchor which may be pressed by a person's foot intothe ground to secure the trash can to the ground.

2. Background Information

It is well known that outdoor trash cans may tip over for a variety ofreasons and also may be blown about in windy climates. The tipping oftrash cans may result in the spilling of and spreading of trashthroughout a neighborhood. When the trash cans are empty and susceptibleto being blown about, they may also be lost or damaged and furthermoremay present a danger to vehicles traveling on roads onto which the trashcans have been blown. Other outdoor items are also subjected to beingblown about or tipped over.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,072,286 granted to Foncannon describes a garbage cansupport utilizing an auger type anchor which is rotated to secure thetrash can support to the ground. A frame work is connected to the augerincluding an adjustable strap which encircles the bottom of the trashcan and is movable between a loosened and tightened securing position tosecure the trash can. U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,938 granted to Seymourdescribes a support column having several telescoping sections one ofwhich is permanently secured underground with the other sectionstelescoping in a vertical manner so that the upper section is connectedto a trash can adjacent its upper end. US Patent Application Publication2002/0121580 of Grady et al. describes a mailbox pole which isvertically adjustable and includes a pair of hooks extending outwardlytherefrom to respectively support a trash can and its lid. U.S. Pat. No.4,084,701 granted to White also describes a trash can securing devicewhich is substantially more complicated than those discussed thus farand includes a horizontal base on which the trash cans are seated withmultiple parts for securing both the trash can and the lid.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an anchoring mechanism for use with anoutdoor item having a lower end adapted to sit on the ground, theapparatus comprising: a base; a mounting mechanism on the base adaptedto mount the base on the outdoor item adjacent its lower end; and ananchor mounted on the base and movable between a raised position inwhich the anchor is adapted to be removed from the ground and a loweredanchoring position in which the anchor is adapted to be inserted intothe ground to secure the outdoor item to the ground.

The present invention also provides an apparatus comprising: an outdoortrash can; a lower end on the trash can; an anchor mounted on the trashcan and movable relative to the trash can between a raised position inwhich the anchor is adapted to be removed from the ground and a loweredanchoring position in which the anchor extends below the lower end andis adapted to be inserted into the ground to secure the trash can to theground.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the first embodiment the anchoringdevice of the present invention mounted on the trash can and shown inthe anchoring position.

FIG. 2A is a front elevational view of the anchor.

FIG. 2B is a front elevational view of the base.

FIG. 2C is a front elevational view of the reinforcing plate.

FIG. 3 is an exploded top plan view of the anchoring device and aportion of the trash can.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view from the side of the anchoring device mountedon the trash can in the raised position showing a lower portion of thetrash can and a shoe preparing to press the anchor into the ground.

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the second embodiment of theanchoring device mounted on a trash can.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A first embodiment of the anchoring device of the present invention isshown generally at 10 in FIGS. 1-4 and a second embodiment of theanchoring device is shown generally at 200 in FIG. 5. Anchoring device10 is shown in FIG. 1 mounted on a trash can 12 for temporarily securingtrash can 12 or another outdoor item to the turf or ground 14. Trash can10 includes upper and lower ends 16 and 18, a generally horizontalbottom wall 20 at lower end 18 and an annular sidewall 22 connected toand extending upwardly from bottom wall 20 to upper end 16. Sidewall 22is typically cylindrical or frustoconical although other shapes are ofcourse known. Bottom wall 20 and sidewall 22 define therewithin atrash-receiving interior chamber 24. A pair of handles 26 extendsoutwardly opposite one another from sidewall 22 adjacent upper end 16. Alid 28 is typically provided to help secure trash within chamber 24. Asshown in FIG. 1, anchoring device 10 is mounted on sidewall 22 adjacentlower end 18.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-3, device 10 is described now in furtherdetail. Device 10 includes a rigid base 30, an anchor 32, a reinforcingmember in the form of a reinforcing plate 34 or washer 38 and aplurality of fasteners comprising a plurality of bolts 36 and nuts 40which threadedly engage bolts 36. These fasteners serve to secure base30 to reinforcing plate 34 so that device 10 may be secured to trash can12. Bolts 36 may be permanently fixed to plate 34 by welding or anothermeans so that plate 34 and bolts 36 form an integral unit. Thissimplifies assembly by eliminating awkward manipulation of bolts 36relative to plate 34 and by eliminating the need for tools to hold bolts36 when tightening nuts 40 thereon.

Referring to FIGS. 2B and 3, base 30 is typically formed of metal oranother rigid material such as certain plastic materials. Base 30includes a generally flat mounting plate 42 having a top edge 44, abottom edge 46 and first and second opposed lateral edges 48 and 50extending therebetween. Plate 42 has front and rear sides 52 and 54.Although sides 52 and 54 may be flat, plate 42 in the exemplaryembodiment is curved or bowed slightly so that front side 52 is aconvexly curved surface and rear side 54 is a concavely curved surfaceadapted to matingly engage the convexly curved outer surface of sidewall22 of trash can 12. Thus, when viewed from above (FIG. 3) or below,mounting plate 42 is curved between first and second edges 48 and 50.Thus, top and bottom edges 44 and 46 and front and rear sides 52 and 54are curved between edges 48 and 50 while edges 48 and 50 are straight asviewed from the side. Four holes which extend generally horizontally areformed in mounting plate 42 extending from the front side 52 to rearside 54. More particularly, these holes include a pair of holes 56Aadjacent first edge 48 and vertically spaced from one another and a pairof holes 56B adjacent second edge 50 and vertically spaced from oneanother and respectively at the same height as holes 56A.

First and second vertically extending and substantially parallel rails58 and 60 are connected to extend outwardly in the forward directionfrom front side 52 of mounting plate 42. Each of rails 58 and 60includes an upper segment 62 and a lower segment 64 connected to uppersegment 62 and extending downward therefrom. A pair of verticallyextending parallel grooves 66 are formed respectively in upper segments62 and extend the entire vertical length of said upper segments 62. Eachgroove has an upper end 68 and lower end 70 and in the exemplaryembodiment has a semi-cylindrical cross-section. Each upper segment 62has a front surface 72 so that surface 72 and front side 52 definetherebetween a normal distance D1 (FIG. 4) which is the thickness ofupper segments 62 as measured horizontally from front to back. Eachlower segment 64 likewise has a front surface 74 so that front surface74 and front side 52 define therebetween a normal distance D2 (FIG. 4)which is larger than distance D1 and represents the horizontal thicknessfrom front to back of each lower segment 64. Each lower segment 64 hasan upper end 76 connected to the lower end of the respective uppersegment 62 and extends downwardly therefrom to a lower end 78 which iscoincidental with bottom edge 46 of plate 42. A pair of parallelvertically elongated through holes 80 are formed respectively in lowersegments 64 extending from upper ends 76 to lower ends 78. Holes 80 arerespectively vertically aligned with and parallel to grooves 66 with theupper ends of holes 80 communicating with the lower ends 70 of grooves66. Upper segment 62 and lower segment 64 have approximately the sameheight and thus each represents approximately one half the height ofmounting plate 42 although this may vary. Thus, the exemplary embodimentof each groove 66 has a vertical height or length which is substantiallythe same as each hole 80 so that each groove 66 and hole 80 likewiserepresent about one half the height of plate 42 and one half the heightof the respective rail 58 or 63.

A flange 79 (FIGS. 3 and 4) is connected to plate 42 adjacent bottomedge 46 and extends rearwardly from rear side 54 to a terminal rear endor edge 81. Flange 79 has first and second lateral edges 83 and 85respectively adjacent first and second edges 48 and 50 of plate 42.Flange 79 further has a top surface 87 and a bottom surface 89. Flange79 is typically in the form of a flat plate which extends horizontallyso that top surface 87 faces upwardly and is intended to help supporttrash can 12 when bottom wall 20 or lower end 18 of trash can 12 isseated thereon. Bottom surface 89 faces downwardly and typically abutsground 14 when used with trash can 12.

In the exemplary embodiment, anchor 32 (FIGS. 2A and 3) is formed of asingle metal rod which has been bent into the configuration shown and isthus formed as an integral one-piece member. This configuration is verycost effective although other configurations may be used. Anchor 32,like base 30, is preferably formed of a non-rusting material such asstainless steel, plastic or other suitable material. Rust would not onlydeteriorate these elements, but inhibit the sliding movement of anchor32. Anchor 32 includes first and second vertically extending spikes 82and 84 each having an upper end 86 and a lower terminal end 88 which istapered downwardly and inwardly somewhat to facilitate insertion intothe ground. When spikes 82 and 84 are not inserted in holes 80 (FIG.2A), they are angled slightly relative to one another so that they arenot quite parallel to one another. Thus, for example, spikes 82 and 84adjacent lower ends 88 define therebetween a normal horizontal distanceD3 (FIG. 2A) which is slightly different from a horizontal normaldistance D4 (FIG. 2B) between holes 80 and the distance between spikes82 and 84 adjacent upper ends 86. Anchor 32 is preferably formed of ametal which is rigid but has some spring to it to allow for some flexingof spikes 82 and 84 to change distance D3 to equal distance D4 to makespikes 82 and 84 parallel (FIG. 1) for insertion into holes 80. Thespring bias of spikes 82 and 84 toward the position of FIG. 2A creates asuitable frictional engagement of spikes 82 and 84 with lower segments64 when disposed in holes 80 so that anchor 32 is held in place in theraised position shown in FIG. 4 solely by this frictional engagement.Spikes 88 are thus slidably received within respective grooves 66 andholes 80 to allow for a substantially vertical sliding movement betweenthe lowered anchoring position of FIG. 1 and the raised non-securingposition of FIG. 4. Anchor 32 further includes a U-shaped foot pressmember 90 which extends outwardly in the forward direction from spikes82 and 84 substantially perpendicularly to said spikes in a horizontaldirection. Foot press member 90 includes a pair of horizontallyextending legs 92 which are spaced form one another and connected to anintervening arcuate base 94. Foot press member 90 is connected to eachof spikes 82 and 84 by a respective pair of intermediate reinforcingsegments 96 which extend vertically and respectively abut spikes 82 and84 adjacent upper ends 86 thereof. Each segment 96 is connected to arespective one of spikes 82 and 84 adjacent upper end 86 by a first180-degree bend 98. Segment 96 is likewise connected to a respective leg92 by a second 90-degree bend 100.

Reinforcing plate 34 (FIGS. 2C and 3) is typically formed of metal oranother rigid material such as a suitable plastic and in the exemplaryembodiment mimics the configuration of plate 42. Thus, plate 34 is asubstantially rectangular plate having a top edge 102, a bottom edge104, first and second straight lateral edges 106 and 108, a front side110 and a rear side 112. Plate 34 is generally flat although in theexemplary embodiment is curved somewhat in the same manner as describedwith regard to plate 42. Thus, plate 34 is curved as viewed from above(FIG. 3) with top and bottom edges 102 and 104 being curved betweenedges 106 and 108, front surface 110 being convexly curved from edge 106to edge 108 and surface 112 being concavely curved from edge 106 to edge108. The convexly curved front side 110 thus matingly engages theconcavely curved inner surface of sidewall 22 of trash can 12. A pair ofhorizontally extending holes 114A are formed in plate 34 adjacentlateral edge 106 extending from side 110 to side 112. Likewise, a pairof holes 114B are formed in plate 34 adjacent edge 108 extending fromside 110 to side 112. Holes 114A are aligned respectively with holes 56Aand holes 114B are aligned respectively with holes 56B so that bolts 36extend through a respective one of holes 114 and 56 when device 10 isassembled and mounted on trash can 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, device 10 is mounted on trash can 12 adjacent lowerend 18 thereof. In the embodiment shown, device 10 is configured to besuitable as a retrofit or after market device which may be attached tostandard trash cans. In order to do this, holes 116 are formed insidewall 22 of trash can 12 respectively aligned with holes 56 and holes114 so that bolts 36 pass through aligned holes 56, 116 and 114 and aresecured by nuts 40. Washers 38 may be used instead of plate 34. Whenmounted on trash can 12, base 30 is disposed outside trash can 12 withrear surface 54 and plate 42 abutting the outer surface of sidewall 52preferably in a mating fashion. The heads of bolts 36 and reinforcingplate 34 are disposed within interior chamber 24 of trash can 12 withfront surface 110 abutting the inner surface of sidewall 22 alsopreferably in a mating fashion. Sidewall 22 is thus sandwiched betweenplates 42 and 34. Alternately, washers 38 may abut the inner surface ofsidewall 22 when plate 34 is not used.

In operation, trash can 12 with device 10 mounted thereon is placed atopground 14 with the bottom of base 30 abutting or closely adjacent ground14. To anchor trash can 12 to ground 14, a downward force indicated atArrow A is applied by a foot or shoe 118 to force spikes 82 and 84 intoground 14 (FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 4, anchor 32 is in the raisedposition so that foot press member 90 and the upper ends 86 of spikes 82and 84 are spaced upwardly of top edge 44 of mounting plate 42. In thisposition, tapered lower ends 88 of spikes 82 and 84 are adjacent thelower ends 78 of rails 58 and 60 and thus adjacent the lower ends ofholes 80 as well as adjacent ground 14 although removed therefrom. Theapplication of downward force on foot press member 90 forces spikes 82and 84 into ground 14 so that lower ends 88 are disposed in a subsurfaceposition which in the exemplary embodiment is approximately five inchesbelow the surface of ground 14. The depth to which the lower ends 88 ofspikes 82 and 84 must extend in the anchored position varies dependingon the size of the trash can or other outdoor items and the climate andsoil with which trash can 12 and device 10 are used. One embodiment ofdevice 10 in which mounting plate 42 is approximately four inches wideand five inches high, and wherein spikes 82 and 84 are sunk into theground with ends 88 approximately five inches below the surface thereofhas been tested and found suitable for securing a standard size outdoorempty trash can in winds up to fifty miles per hour. Thus, althoughdevice 10 is relatively small and mounted adjacent the lower end of thetrash can adjacent ground 14 when in use, it provides a substantialamount of stability to the trash can.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, anchoring device 200 is now described.Device 200 is a built-in anchoring device which is mounted on a trashcan 202 without the use of fasteners such as bolts, nuts, rivets, andalso without a reinforcing plate such as plate 34 of device 10. Device200 is similar to device 10 in that it includes a base having a mountingplate 204 which is similar to plate 42 without the holes formedtherethrough. In addition, device 200 is free of a flange such as flange79 which is connected to plate 204 and extends laterally outwardlytherefrom. Like device 10, device 200 includes rails 58 and 60 andanchor 32 and thus operates in the same fashion. In the exemplaryembodiment of device 200, mounting plate 204 is molded into a sidewall206 of trash can 204. More particularly, sidewall 206 adjacent its lowerend includes an inner sidewall segment 208 and an outer sidewall segment210 so that plate 204 is sandwiched therebetween. Thus, segments 208 and210 are respectively in abutment with the inner and outer sides of plate204. Sidewall segment 210 also contacts the top and bottom edges and thelateral edges of plate 204. Thus, outer segment 210 together with innersegment 208 defines a pocket within which mounting plate 204 isdisposed. In device 200, sidewall 206 itself and in particular outersegment 210 serves as the mounting mechanism by which device 200 ismounted on trash can 202. While the exemplary embodiment shows thatplate 204 is molded into sidewall 206, it is also contemplated that asidewall similar to sidewall 206 may be formed with an outer sidewallsegment to define a pocket having an entrance opening to allow amounting plate such as plate 204 which is not molded into the sidewallto be slid into the pocket via the entrance opening and secured by anysuitable mechanism therewithin.

With respect to the use on a trash can, devices 10 and 200 provideuseful anchoring mechanisms which are easily applied by garbagecollectors by simply stepping on the foot press member 90 to insertspikes 82 and 84 into the ground after trash has been emptied from thetrash can. The owners of the trash can also fairly easily remove spikes82 and 84 from the ground by applying an upward force on press member 90directly or by tilting the trash can to create a prying motion. It isnoted that foot press member 90 is spaced upwardly from ground 14 whenin the anchoring position in order to provide access to its bottomsurface to apply such an upward force for removing anchor 32 from ground14. In addition, the owners may use anchoring device 30 to anchor thetrash can when the trash can is full to help prevent its being tippedover due to windy conditions, animals and so forth. Conveniently, anchor32 may be reset to the raised position simply by lowering the trash canwith anchor 32 atop ground 14 or other support surface whereby theweight of the trash can, base and mounting mechanism typically causesthe base to slide down relative to anchor 32. If the weight of the trashcan or other outdoor item is not sufficient for this purpose, the usermay apply an additional downward force on the trash can.

Devices 10 and 200 have been discussed herein in use with a trash can.However, device 10 or a similar structure may be used for temporarilyanchoring other outdoor items such as garden equipment, hose reels, lawnchairs, dog or other pet carriers, grave blankets and so forth.Substantially smaller devices have been configured for use in variousapplications, for instance wherein the mounting plate 42 is about oneand half inches wide and three inches high and the spikes of the anchorare configured to extend two or three inches into the soil. It isfurther noted that more than one anchoring device such as device 30 maybe used on a given trash can or other item to be secured to the ground.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity,clearness, and understanding. No unnecessary limitations are to beimplied therefrom beyond the requirement of the prior art because suchterms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadlyconstrued.

Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is anexample and the invention is not limited to the exact details shown ordescribed.

1. An anchoring mechanism for use with an outdoor item having a lowerend adapted to sit on the ground, the anchoring mechanism comprising: abase; a mounting mechanism on the base adapted to mount the base on theoutdoor item adjacent its lower end; and an anchor carried by the baseand movable relative to the base between a raised position in which theanchor is adapted to be removed from the ground and a lowered anchoringposition in which the anchor is adapted to be inserted into the groundto secure the outdoor item to the ground.
 2. The anchoring mechanism ofclaim 1 wherein the anchor comprises a bent rod.
 3. The anchoringmechanism of claim 2 further comprising first and segments of the rodwhich are connected to one another by a 90-degree bend.
 4. The anchoringmechanism of claim 2 further comprising first and segments of the rodwhich are connected to one another by a 180-degree bend.
 5. Theanchoring mechanism of claim 2 wherein the rod comprises a U-shapedsegment.
 6. The anchoring mechanism of claim 1 further comprising ahorizontally extending leg on the anchor.
 7. The anchoring mechanism ofclaim 1 further comprising a frictional engagement between verticalsurfaces on the anchor and vertical surfaces on the base; wherein theanchor is held in place in the raised position solely by the frictionalengagement.
 8. The anchoring mechanism of claim 1 wherein the anchorcomprises an upper portion and first and second spikes secured to andextending downwardly from the upper portion.
 9. The anchoring mechanismof claim 8 further comprising first and second parallel holes formed inthe base; and wherein the first and second spikes are slidably receivedrespectively in the first and second holes to slide upwardly anddownwardly between the lowered and raised positions.
 10. The anchoringmechanism of claim 9 further comprising a first position in which thefirst and second spikes are removed from the first and second holes andare not parallel; a second position in which the first and second spikesare respectively disposed in the first and second holes and areparallel; and a spring bias of the first and second spikes toward thefirst position which creates a frictional engagement of the first andsecond spikes with the base when the first and second spikes arerespectively disposed in the first and second holes so that thefrictional engagement holds the anchor in place in the raised position.11. The anchoring mechanism of claim 1 further comprising an upwardlyfacing surface on the base; and a downwardly facing surface on theanchor which is seated on the upwardly facing surface when the anchor isin the lowered position and which is spaced upwardly from the upwardlyfacing surface in the raised position.
 12. The anchoring mechanism ofclaim 1 wherein the base has a bottom; the anchor has a bottom; thebottom of the anchor is adjacent the bottom of the base in the raisedposition; and the bottom of the anchor is spaced downwardly of thebottom of the base in the lowered position.
 13. The anchoring mechanismof claim 1 further comprising a hole formed in the base having a top anda bottom; and wherein the anchor is slidable upwardly and downwardlywithin the hole; the anchor has a bottom; the bottom of the anchor isadjacent the bottom of the hole in the raised position; and the bottomof the anchor is spaced downwardly of the bottom of the hole in thelowered position.
 14. The anchoring mechanism of claim 1 furthercomprising a hole formed in the base having a top and a bottom; a firstspike on the anchor which extends generally vertically and is slidableupwardly and downwardly within the hole; and a portion of the anchorabove the top of the hole which extends laterally outwardly fromadjacent the first spike beyond the hole.
 15. The anchoring mechanism ofclaim 1 further comprising a first upwardly extending through holeformed in the base having an upper end; a first groove formed in thebase in communication with the upper end of the hole and extendingupwardly therefrom; and a first upwardly extending spike on the anchorwhich is slidably received in the first hole and in the first groove tomove between the raised and lowered positions.
 16. The anchoringmechanism of claim 1 in combination with the outdoor item; wherein theanchor is removable from the ground while in the lowered position inresponse to an upward force on the outdoor item.
 17. The anchoringmechanism of claim 1 in combination with the outdoor item; wherein theoutdoor item has a bottom; the anchor has a bottom; the bottom of theanchor is adjacent the bottom of the outdoor item in the raisedposition; and the bottom of the anchor is spaced downwardly of thebottom of the outdoor item in the lowered position.
 18. The anchoringmechanism of claim 1 in combination with the outdoor item; wherein theanchor in the raised position is removed from the ground when theoutdoor item is seated on the ground.
 19. The anchoring mechanism ofclaim 1 in combination with the outdoor item; wherein the anchor has abottom; and the anchor moves from the lowered position to the raisedposition in response to a downward force on the outdoor item while thebottom of the anchor is seated on top of the ground.
 20. An apparatuscomprising: an outdoor item; a lower end on the outdoor item; an anchorcarried by the outdoor item and movable relative to the outdoor itembetween a raised position in which the anchor is adapted to be removedfrom the ground and a lowered anchoring position in which the anchorextends below the lower end and is adapted to be inserted into theground to secure the outdoor item to the ground.